Wearing an ink blue gown Ilyas was delighted to talk about her movie. She revealed her love for her role in the film.

“As soon as I read the script I fell in love with the role – it was challenging and demanded me to put my best into it.”

Ilyas also disclosed that she has three film projects in hands but she really can’t reveal the details right now.

The film director Sumar said the film not only narrates the story of a struggling model but it also talks about our lifestyle and sociao-political impacts on the lives of the people. The talented director also stated that GMK is just the beginning for her and she wanted to continue her journey with much more bigger projects at her credit.

She also said that there are high chances that she may team up with Ilyas in her next film too.

Veet Super Model Contest winner Beenish Khan broke into tears while watching the movie and when HIP inquired her about it she admitted that she found Rafina’s character quite similar to her real life.

“While the visuals were going on the screen I couldn’t stop myself recalling the struggles and problems I have faced to reach at my current position.”

Considering Ilyas as a great idol she said:

“Amna Ilyas has always been a great inspiration for me as a model but now I am also in love with her acting.

GMK is a story of a girl who chases her dreams to become a renowned face of fashion world. Filmed at the time of former Prime Minister Benzair Bhutto assassination it captured the spirit of Karachi in the best way possible.

The movie will be screened at all the cinemas from Jan 1st, 2015. The film premiere was organized by THOR – House of Rana. All the female models spotted posing on the red carpet and observed to be very eye-candy at the premiere were dolled up glamorous and chic by none other than Angie Marshall salon and institute, and were carrying the very customized made, COCKTAIL outfits, just for this event by Asim @ THOR.

Saturday, 20 December 2014

ThePeshawar attackhas not only left the families of the victims reeling from the death of their loved ones but has effectively cast a dark shadow of gloom and sorrow over the entire nation.

Such is the nature of these events that they have left an everlasting mark and impression on the minds of the cast and crew of the movieYalghaar.

Hassan Waqas Rana, director-writer-producer and cinematographer of the movie, revealed toThe Express TribunethatYalghaarwill be a tribute to slain children of the Peshawar attack.

“The least we could do was dedicate this film to the victims of the Peshawar attack because they took our future away from us in a single blow,” said Rana

He went on to say that the film will not only be dedicated to the children of Peshawar attacks but their names and pictures will come on screen before end credits of the film, with the consent of their parents. Apart from that he also intends to hold a special screening for the families of the victims.

“It hits me on a different level because I myself am a father. And after that it affects you as a Pakistani and then it affects you as an artist,” added Rana.

The movie which is inspired by real-life army operations in Peochar and Swat is currently in the production phase. At the time of the Peshawar attack, the crew ofYalghaarwas busy filming a scene in the Lehri Rangers area of Mangla, in which a company of around 35 soldiers are attacked by up to 700 terrorists.

Upon receiving the unfortunate news the shoot was called off and resumed the next evening.

According to Rana the attack further “validated what we are doing as filmmakers” as they were shooting a film that “highlights different human elements that are at play during a war”.

Adnan Siddiqui, who is plays a military officer in the film, was in a state of shock on set when the incident took place. “I am a physically and mentally strong human being but right after hearing the sad news, I was in tears. They were my kids. And though I was initially very depressed and disgruntled by this episode, later on I felt even more motivated to act and be a part of the film about terrorism,” said Siddiqui.

Siddiqui who has also starred in Hollywood movieA Mighty Hearttermed the children as “the last hope for humanity” and hoped that their deaths would not be in vain and would inspire officials to take action.

He also elaborated upon the reason to dedicate this movie in the memory of the victims saying, “Even actors are human beings and that is the least we can do to share their grief. This attack has motivated me even more and I hope the vengeance translates onto the screen when it is released.”

The movie is slated to release in 2015 with the trailer due in January and has an ensemble cast with Shaan Shahid, Humayun Saeed, Adnan Siddiqui, Sana Bucha and Humayun Saeed all taking on integral roles. Shaan, on the other hand, took a break from filming after the tragedy occurred and is all set to resume filming after a few days off.

Monday, 15 December 2014

We all know that Yasir Jaswal’s upcoming masala packed flick has some amazing boys including Adnan Jaffar, Danish Taimur, Ali Safina Uzair Jaswal And Wiqar Ali Khan. We also know that Zhalay Sarhadi wil be seen in an avatar like never before and Sabika Imam’s debut will make it even breaking. But what we didn’t know is that the much anticipated movie will also be starring the well-known veteran actor Sajid Hassan.

Expected to release in March, Jaswal is going high on the promotions and has lately started putting up posters of the actors who will be featured in his movie, the latest one being of none other than Sajid Hassan’s.

From the looks of the poster, Hassan is all geared to play a bad ass villain and boy are we excited!

Jaswal has used state of the art equipment to make ‘Jalaibee’. It is first Pakistani film to be shot on the ARRI Alexa HD camera and they’re promoting it to their hearts content. The same camera was used to shoot recent blockbusters such as Gravity, Skyfall and Ironman 3.

The director is leaving no opportunity to make his production unusual than many run-of the-mill movies being made in the country – from shooting on exorbitant sets to sizzling hot number he has included everything in Jalaibee to make it the ‘awesome movie of the year’.

Well, the details certainly sound interesting but we have to actually wait till March to witness the grandeur of this technologically sound movie.

Shaan poses with Bilal Ashraf in a still from Yalghaar. PHOTOS: PUBLICITY

KARACHI:

Celebrities these days are making a conscious effort to ensure that there is a lesser degree of transparency between them and their fans and all of this has been made possible due to the rise of social networking websites, most notably Twitter and Facebook.

Shaan, a veteran of 576 films, has long been termed as the face of Pakistani cinema. To a question about whether Shaan has delayed the launch of his website of a few years, his publicist Noman Nazir elaborated upon this, terming it a “requirement” in the day and age of social media.

“A lot of Shaan’s fans who have not seen his previous films have been asking us where we can see his older work; therefore, we will be uploading some of Shaan’s more successful films online such asBulandi,Nikkah,Guns & Roses,Mujhe Chand ChahiyeandWaar,” said the publicist.

He further added that, an actor like Shaan, who has been part of the industry since the 1990s, he needs to keep himself with the pace of the time and that is a major reason why he has such a tremendous fan following.

Shaan himself stated that one of the reasons behind making the website was to display the work of his father.

“The website will also contain my father’s films likeSusral,Yeh Aman,ShaheedandGarnata. This is being done so because many people of the older generation want to show Riaz Shahid’s films to the younger generation but don’t have access to them,” said the star of the upcoming filmYalghaar.

According to Nazir, the website will serve a dual purpose.

“Apart from using the website to interact with the fans, we will also be using it for promotional purposes, such as providing updates of films and uploading stills from films, latest photoshoots and commercials,” Nazir toldThe Express Tribune.

The website will provide fans with an in-depth account of the Pakistani film actor with his biography, filmography and a list of all the awards, nominations and accolades he has received over the years.

Shaan will next be seen in the action filmYalghaar,which is being directed by the producer and writer ofWaar, Hassan Waqar Rana. The film will co-star Adnan Siddiqui, Humayun Saeed and Ayub Khoso and is based on the story of Pakistan Army’s Swat operation. The trailer ofYalghaaris expected to release somewhere in January 2014.

Sunday, 14 December 2014

Fahad Mustafa is all set to turn producer for a film being made under his production banner. PHOTO: PUBLICITY

KARACHI:

Fahad Mustafa’s life motto ensures that he does not succumb to the curse of mediocrity. The actor has made a living out of experimentation and versatility by juggling various roles and proving his multi-faceted persona time and again. He has gone from being a television actor to a morning host and game show personality to becoming a film actor, all within the space of a few months.

For an actor known to play the archetypical male leads in Pakistani TV serials, Mustafa recently treaded into unknown territory by debuting in comedyNa Maloom Afraad. The actor, who will next be seen in the filmMah-e-Meer,spoke toThe Express Tribuneabout the reason behind his varied career trajectory.

“It is important to keep on experimenting as an actor otherwise, if I wanted to play one sort of role, I would have gone for a more stable 9 to 5 job rather than become an actor,” said theNa Maloom Afraadstar.

He talked about his decision behind switching mediums despite being an accomplished television actor and personality stating, “I have this inherent problem that I am not very sensible in life. I hosted a morning show when everyone told me not to and it worked out brilliantly. Then, I didJeeto Pakistanwhen people warned me against it and it eventually became the number one game show.”

The actor further added that this decision not only bore fruit for him financially but also rejuvenated his career as an actor. Time away from the sets of TV dramas allowed him to enjoy and appreciate his work even more so.

He feels strongly about reviving the film industry. “The idea is to help our [film] industry grow and hopefully reach a point when there will be at least 10-12 major film releases per year and hopefully, that will include at least two of my films. The growth of our film industry should not mean the end for our drama industry,” said the star.

Mustafa, who made his film debut withNa Maloom Afraad,said that his decision to do less TV dramas helped him “save” his skills for film.

“Coming less on TV as an actor helped me save my skills as an actor as constantly appearing on dramas would’ve resulted in the exhaustion of my skill set,” remarked Mustafa.

The major reason why his transition from television to film went smooth was because, in his opinion, acting in a medium like television is tougher in comparison to film. “In film, the concentration is generally more as you have lesser shots. Whereas in a TV drama you have to repeat the action countless times for different scenes which eventually results in a decline in the quality of performance.”

Mustafa feels he is very “privileged” as a film actor as at the start of his career he got the opportunity to act in two completely different films such as the entertainerNa Maloom Afraadand the character drivenMah-e-Meer.

“Mah-e-Meeris a very different film and is basically a treat for me as an actor. I felt honoured that Sarmad Sehbai chose me in particular for the part,” he toldThe Express Tribune.

Apart from his work as an actor, Mustafa is all set to turn producer for a film being made under his production banner. The star will also be starring in the romantic-comedy, which will be directed by Anjum Shahzad.

Saturday, 13 December 2014

Mega budget movie‘Yalghaar’starring Shaan Shahid and Adnan Siddiqui is heading to its final pre-production phase as more than half of its shooting is completed.

Recently a major action sequence of the film was shot in Tarbala in which the film’s lead actor Shahid along with Ayub Khosa, Umair Jaswal and Bilal Ashraf. Film cast and crew worked day and night to complete the third spell of the shot in Tarbela. The team will now go to Swat and Islamabad where the last two shooting spells will be recorded.

Reportedly the most expensive movie of Pakistan ‘Yalghaar’ has been completely shot in Pakistan. Written, directed and produced by Dr Hasan Waqas Rana the film has expected to have a budget of more than Rs 50 crore.

It is based on the true story of Pakistan Army’s Swat Operation. The film explores what happens in the lives of those involved, including the militants and how all of them are affected at a personal level because of the ongoing operation”.

It stars Shaan Shahid in the lead role, along with Humayun Saeed, Adnan Siddiqui, Ayesha Omer and Sana Bucha. Apart from budget and extensive cast, the film features 150 written characters. Based on a true story over 76 hours of a successful military operation conducted in the Parichar region of Swat district, Yalghaar goes up close to follow the lives of the young, passionate officers and soldiers whose patriotism is throbbing with every heartbeat for their country.

Tuesday, 9 December 2014

If you are a horror movie buff then you need to watch out for ‘Paranormal Karachi Nights’ – Pakistan’s very own Blair Witch Project style found footage film.

Found footage is a film genre that became especially popular with horror films – the idea is that the film is in fact real footage that was discovered. The style has been used by creepy films like Cloverfield, the Paranormal series and REC.

So far the team has released a teaser featuring a wheel chair and a few hazy images with the tag line ‘frightening soon’.

In the present revival of Pakistani cinema it’s a good sign that someone has made an attempt to make a horror film – this genre was last touched by Azfar Jafri in ‘Siyaah’ which was released in 2013 and received a mixed response on the box office but was well received by critics.

The promo shows a hanged woman, a masked girl and a Lahori boy roaming around Karachi with Saba Qamar. The mystery involves the murder of a young girl in 1994 in which a cop was involved. Now new someone is taking revenge and the law enforcement agency is trying to solve the old mystery again.

From the few glimpses it appears that Qamar will either play a cop or a detective in the film who sets out on a mission to untangle the mystery. The film also features another actress who the memorable dialogue ‘I am a model not a slut’.

Overall, the promo was lukewarm but the plot seems interesting. The mystery genre is one that is rarely explored in Pakistan and if 8968 is successful than perhaps audiences will get more variety in films.

Sunday, 7 December 2014

The wait is over. Debutante director Yasir Jaswal’s much awaited film ‘Jalaibee’ will hit theatres in March confirms the film team.

The director is currently working on music composition of the film and has given a golden opportunity to all the aspiring musicians to send their musical pieces to him in case they want their work to feature in the film.

As if the presence of these five sexy men wasn’t enough to make you swoon, Zhalay Sarhadi and Sabika Imam are upping the heat

Jaswal has used state of the art equipment to make ‘Jalaibee’. It is first Pakistani film to be shot on the ARRI Alexa HD camera and they’re promoting it to their hearts content. The same camera was used to shoot recent blockbusters such as Gravity, Skyfall and Ironman 3.

The director is leaving no opportunity to make his production unusual than many run-of the-mill movies being made in the country – from shooting on exorbitant sets to sizzling hot number he has included everything in Jalaibee to make it the ‘awesome movie of the year’.

Well, the details certainly sound interesting but we have to actually wait till March to witness the grandeur of this technologically sound movie. But for now checkout some behind the scene activity of the film.

Saturday, 6 December 2014

Actor and painter Jamal Shah’s directorial debut ‘Revenge of
the worthless’ stars Maira Khan and Shamyl Khan in the leading roles.

Set in the backdrop of 2009 Swat insurgency the film narrates the
true stories of the brave individuals who fough for the honour and
dignity of their motherland in the painful war. Most of the film
shooting has been done in the exquisite locations of Malakand, Swat,
Peshawar and Islamabad.

Friday, 5 December 2014

Lashari is in a fix to find the female protagonist (Daro) for the film. Earlier, we heard reports that film actress and host Noor would be playing the role but now Sanam Jung seems to be the final choice. We’ve seen Jung’s acting in Dil-e-Mustar and Muhabbat subha ka sitara hai where she played a wide-eyed innocent girl; an exact opposite of what she’s expected to play in Maula Jatt.

It would be exciting to see Hum’s morning show host in agandasafest and probably using Kalashnikov or two.

HIP recently spoke to Aabroo of ‘Maraam and Aabroo’sBabel talent management company’about their newly launched company where she revealed they have taken up Maula Jatt as their first film project and will be finding talent for the Punjabi remake.

The Maula Jatt remake has faced its set of controversies as the producer of original Maula Jatt Muhammad Sarwar Bhatti came in the media and deemed Lashari’s remake illegal as he hadn’t bought rights of the film. Lashari’s rebuttal came soon after claiming that the rights of the film were with the writer Nasir Adeeb and he’s currently working with Lashari on Maula Jatt 2.

Bhatti, the owner of Bahoo Films responded with a curt, “An employee [Adeeb] will never have the ownership of his boss’s property” and insisted that he had the rights of Maula Jatt and even the censor certificate was on his name. The matter has now been left to fate. Is Lashari legally covered for the film? No one knows. But we do now that Hamza Abbasi and Sanam Jung will look pretty hot together.

Khan further shared: "Halla Gullawill have at least five songs, which shows that it is a commercial comedy— one of which, "Ishq Kamla", has been released. There is one item song and one club song along with others.”

The cast of the film includes veteran actors Javed Sheikh, Ismail Tara, Ghazal Javed, Ashraf Khan and Adil Wadia along with some relatively new faces, including Asim Mehmood, Sidra Batool, Muneeb and Maryam Ansari among others.

“I think the reason people are drawing parallels withNMAis that it also has Javed Sheikhsahiband the genre is also not a serious one but I assure you that they are not similar.Hulla Gullawill be a total comedy and a family entertainment film,” said Khan.

Though he didn’t disclose the story, Khan said Javed Sheikh will be playing the role of a don and Asim Mehmood will be playing his son.

“Like Indian filmsGolmalorHousefulldo not follow stories and are more concerned with a chain of events,Halla Gullawill also have a similar take,” Khan said.

Giving an insight about the music score, Khan revealed that the songs have been sung by Indian singers Mika Singh and Sunidhi Chauhan.

“Rahat Fateh Ali Khan has also lent his voice for a song and we are in talks with [Bollywood playback singer] Sukhwinder about another one.”